Margherita pizza with no-cook tomato sauce
Two homemade pizzas with a crisp, cooked-through base, an airy golden rim, bright tomato sauce, soft mozzarella and fresh basil. Bake them one at a time on a thoroughly preheated metal tray and serve each as it is ready.
Advert
Let’s get cooking.
Cook mode
Scale servings, tick off ingredients, and run step timers without losing your place.
Servings
Originally developed for 2 servings.
Ingredient checklist
Method
- 05:00
Mix the 300 g flour and yeast in the bowl. Add the water, 6 g dough salt and 6 g dough oil; mix until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest for 5 minutes, then knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth, elastic and slightly tacky. Use no more than 5 g of the dusting flour here, and only if needed. If very sticky, cover and rest for another 5 minutes before adding flour.
- 90:00
Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave at approximately 21–24°C until roughly doubled and visibly aerated, usually 90–120 minutes. Begin checking after 90 minutes; a cooler kitchen will take longer. Prepare the toppings and start heating the oven while it rises.
- 10:00
During the rise, drain the tomatoes in a sieve over a bowl for 10 minutes without pressing. Weigh out 200 g drained flesh, crush with a fork or by hand, and stir in the 2 g sauce salt, reducing it if the tomatoes are already salted. The sauce should be spoonable with no watery pool around it. Cover and refrigerate promptly at 5°C or colder; take out only 100 g when topping each pizza. Put the reserved tomato flesh and juice in a separate covered container and refrigerate promptly; use within 48 hours or freeze sooner, following any shorter pack instructions.
While the tomatoes drain, weigh and tear the mozzarella into 1–2 cm pieces. Drain in a sieve or on kitchen paper in the fridge for 25 minutes, then blot dry and keep refrigerated. Refrigerate any unused cheese according to its pack instructions. Wash and thoroughly dry the basil.
- 45:00
When the dough is approaching doubled, place the sturdy baking tray upside down on the upper-middle oven shelf. Heat to 250°C conventional / 230°C fan, allowing the oven and tray at least 45 minutes to heat, even if the oven indicator switches off earlier. Use a stable, uncoated tray rated for this temperature. Do not use baking paper unless its manufacturer permits this temperature.
- 25:00
Once risen, turn out the dough and divide into two approximately 255 g portions. Gently form into balls, cover and rest for 25 minutes, or until relaxed enough to stretch. Let this rest overlap with the end of the oven preheat; do not shape until the tray has had its full heating time.
- No timer needed
Lightly dust a dry peel or rimless tray and the work surface with up to 5 g flour. Press and stretch one dough ball into a roughly 26 cm round, keeping a 1–2 cm rim and a thin but unbroken centre. Avoid rolling out the rim. If it repeatedly springs back, cover and rest for another 10 minutes. Keep the second dough ball covered.
- No timer needed
Check that the untopped dough slides freely on the peel. Take 100 g prepared sauce and 100 g drained mozzarella from the fridge, leaving the remaining portions refrigerated. Spread the sauce over the dough, leaving the rim clear, then scatter over the mozzarella with gaps between the pieces. Top quickly and transfer immediately: a topped pizza left standing is more likely to stick. If an edge catches, lift it and work a little of the shaping flour underneath before approaching the oven.
- 08:00
Slide the pizza onto the hot inverted tray, keeping hands clear of the hot metal. Bake for 10–14 minutes: check after 8 minutes and rotate if browning unevenly. It is ready when the rim is golden, the underside has browned patches and the centre is set, with no damp, raw dough beneath the sauce. Give a pale or soft base another 1–3 minutes.
Transfer to a board, leaving the tray in the oven. Add half the prepared basil and 3 g finishing oil, then rest for 2 minutes before slicing and serving. Allow the tray at least 5 minutes to recover its heat before shaping the next pizza; this overlaps with finishing and resting the first.
- 08:00
After the tray’s recovery, shape the second dough ball using the remaining allowance of up to 5 g dusting flour. Check it slides freely. Take the remaining 100 g sauce and 100 g mozzarella from the fridge, top immediately and slide onto the hot tray. Bake for 10–14 minutes, checking after 8 minutes and rotating if necessary; use the same underside and centre checks as for the first pizza. Finish with the remaining basil and 3 g finishing oil, rest for 2 minutes, then slice and serve.
Chef tips
- The schedule allows a 105-minute first rise, but dough readiness takes priority. Extend the rise in a cool kitchen and shift later tasks accordingly.
- A wet centre usually means watery toppings, an insufficiently heated tray or an underbaked base. Drain and blot carefully, keep to the stated topping weights and inspect the underside before removing the pizza.
- Use dusting flour sparingly. Excess flour incorporated during kneading can make the base dense and tough.
- If the rim colours before the base sets, move the tray down one shelf for subsequent baking and continue checking the underside.
- If your oven only reaches 240°C conventional / 220°C fan, keep the full 45-minute preheat and allow approximately 12–17 minutes per pizza.
- Do not taste raw dough. Melted cheese alone does not show that the flour-based centre is cooked through, so check that no damp, raw dough remains beneath the sauce.
Equipment check
- Digital scales capable of weighing small yeast and salt quantities
- Mixing bowl of at least 2 litres and a lid or cover
- Sieve and bowls for draining
- Covered containers for refrigerating sauce and reserved tomatoes
- Clean kitchen paper
- Heavy, uncoated metal baking tray with a stable, flat underside of at least 30 × 35 cm, rated for 250°C
- Pizza peel or a second flat, rimless metal tray
- Dry oven gloves
- Board and pizza cutter or sharp knife
Nutrition per serving
- Calories860
- Protein34 g
- Carbs116 g
- Fat29 g
Tags
Behind the dish.
Overview
Makes two 26 cm pizzas, each serving one as a main course. Moderate dough hydration, restrained toppings and a thoroughly heated tray help produce a crisp base and airy rim in a domestic oven. Bake and serve the pizzas sequentially for the crispest result.
Ingredient notes
Use instant dried yeast intended for mixing directly into flour. Strong white bread flour gives the dough enough strength to stretch without tearing. Drain the tinned tomatoes before weighing out 200 g flesh; do not use the entire tin as topping. Alternatively, use 200 g thick, unsalted passata, draining it before weighing if it is watery.
Standard cow’s milk mozzarella is easier to manage than wetter buffalo mozzarella. Choose cheese made with vegetarian rennet for a vegetarian pizza. Contains wheat/gluten and milk; check packaged substitutions individually.
Serving & storage
Keep the prepared sauce covered and refrigerated at 5°C or colder, removing only the portion needed for each pizza. Promptly refrigerate reserved opened tomatoes and juice in a covered container; use within 48 hours or freeze sooner, following any shorter pack instructions. Keep unused mozzarella refrigerated and follow its opened-pack instructions.
Serve each pizza hot after its brief rest. Cool leftovers promptly in shallow portions and refrigerate within 2 hours at 5°C or colder. Use within 48 hours or freeze sooner. Thaw frozen leftovers in the fridge. Reheat only once, until steaming hot throughout, on a preheated tray at 200°C conventional / 180°C fan, usually 8–12 minutes from chilled.
Related recipes
Lasagne alla bolognese with slow-simmered ragù
◷ 304 minmedium
Thin spinach egg-pasta sheets layered with beef and pork ragù, creamy béchamel and Parmigiano Reggiano. Allow about 5 hours 5 minutes, including resting and serving, and longer if the ragù needs further reduction or the lasagne needs more baking.
Oct 18
Crispy gnocchi with roasted peppers and burrata
◷ 44 mineasy
Golden pan-fried potato gnocchi sit over a light roasted-pepper sauce, with torn burrata and fresh basil. Keeping the sauce underneath preserves the crisp edges and soft potato centres.
Oct 15
Tiramisu with Espresso-Dipped Ladyfingers
◷ 403 minmedium
Two layers of briefly espresso-dipped savoiardi and airy mascarpone cream, finished with cocoa. Use pasteurised egg products suitable for uncooked dishes and chill for at least 6 hours for tender biscuits and softly set layers.
Oct 9